New Manhattan Sinfonietta’s leading musicians will perform at Yunus Emre Institute in Washington DCThe concert program will include highlights of Turkish Classical Music for String Quartet and PianoMusicians:Derin Oge, pianoEmre Engin and Yiğit Karataş, violinsGizem Yücel, violaEmirhan Tunca, CelloFor more information please visit: New Manhattan Sinfonietta https://nmsinfonietta.org/Yunus Emre Institute in Washington DC https://dc.yee.org.tr/and organization byTurkish American Arts Society of New York https://www.taasny.org/

Hailed by the New York Timesas “a finely polished, stylistically nimble ensemble,” the Choir of St. Ignatius Loyola is comprised of New York’s finest professional choral singers. The Choir’s “tremendous expressive and dynamic range” and “remarkable vocal discipline and finesse” (the New York Times) is featured in the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series, now in its 27th season. Each member is a soloist in his or her own right in a variety of genres including early music, opera, oratorio and contemporary repertoire. The core group of 20 members sings a demanding schedule of weekly parish worship services in a wide range of repertoire, with particular emphasis on new works, the sacred Renaissance repertoire, and Gregorian chant. The Choir may be heard on recordings for the MSR Classics and AMDG labels. In March 2006, the Choir was invited as the headline chorus at the Southwestern American Choral Directors Association convention in St. Louis, Missouri. In April 2009, the Choir performed in the opening festival of radio station WNYC’s new Jerome L. Greene Performance Space, on a concert bill with René Pape, John Zorn, Ute Lemper, and Nico Muhly. The Orchestra of St. Ignatius Loyola, lauded by the New York Times for their “lean, taut and fiery playing,” participates in the Sacred Music in a Sacred Space concert series and enhances a number of parish worship services throughout the year. Members are drawn from among New York City’s most talented and stylistically versatile freelance musicians and have often been heard in the Orchestra of St. Luke’s, the orchestras of the New York City Opera and New York City Ballet, and various period-instrument orchestras.

New York Times review the concert:

I haven’t encountered much Poulenc in recent years, except for the farcical opera “Les Mamelles de Tiresias,” heard twice: at Tanglewood in 1997 and at the Juilliard School in 2015. I can’t say that I thought a lot about what I was missing, but I was forcibly reminded on Wednesday evening, by Sacred Music in a Sacred Space’s Poulenc program at the Church of St. Ignatius Loyola, just how delightful his best works are. René Anne Louprette played the Organ Concerto beautifully, and K. Scott Warren conducted St. Ignatius choirs in Poulenc’s crowning Gloria, with Wendy Baker as an excellent soprano soloist. The Gloria is heard here on YouTube, with Georges Prêtre conducting French forces.- JAMES R. OESTREICH

Trumpet Section after the concert. With Thomas Verchot and Chris Coletti

The culminating piece we have on the program is "Playgrounds for Angels" by Einojuhani Rautavaara, who died recently in July of 2016. The angels in this piece are not cherubic or happy, but terrifying apparitions: “Again and again in my dreams, an enormous, grey, powerful, silent creature would approach me and clasp me in its arms so I feared its mighty presence would suffocate me. I struggled for dear life… until I awoke. The figure came back night after night, and I spent the days fearing its return. Finally, after dozens of these battles, I learned to surrender, to become part of it.”

The piece we paired with the Rautavaara is a Quintet by the Swedish composer Fredrik Högberg titled "Melancholy Tango for Five Brass Players and their Voices". This piece compliments the sound world of the Rautavaara and employs a lot of similar techniques.

The third component for our program is two commissioned works by Nathan Prillaman and Theo Chandler's "Ceremonial Music" for brass ensemble.

Jesse Brault, conductorChurch of the Blessed Sacrament on 71st between Broadway and Columbus

MOD Brass is not the status quoWe seek out the new We exist to solve a problem To challenge assumptions and change stereotypes about brassTo make a contributionWe have a modular brass instrumentation We perform modern music By composers of our time For people who crave new sounds MOD Brass is an ensemble for the present

MOD Brass would like to invite you to attend our launch concert!

The central work for the program is Einojuhani Rautavaara's "Playgrounds for Angels". Rautavaara's angels are not winged cherubs, but terrifying apparitions. “Again and again in my dreams, an enormous, grey, powerful, silent creature would approach me and clasp me in its arms so I feared its mighty presence would suffocate me. I struggled for dear life… until I awoke. The figure came back night after night, and I spent the days fearing its return. Finally, after dozens of these battles, I learned to surrender, to become part of it.”

Rautavaara's work will be paired with Fredrik Högbergs "Melancholy Tango for Five Brass Players and Their Voices". This piece is the tango infused with a more melancholy Scandinavian spirit. Högberg utilizes vocalization to create a deeper dimension to his sound world and to highlight the vocal quality of brass.

We are incredibly excited to feature premieres of works by Nathan Prillaman and Theo Chandler. Nathan's piece is scored for brass and electronics, and Theo's piece "Ceremonial Music" is scored for brass choir.

Kent Tritle conducts two timely world premieres. Sanctuary Road, by Pulitzer Prize-winners Paul Moravec (music) and Mark Campbell (text), tells of journeys toward freedom on the Underground Railroad led by William Still, an African American abolitionist. We Are One by Juilliard professor Behzad Ranjbaran presents texts from different periods, cultures, and languages, reflecting on the human desire for mutual respect and peace. Together, these pieces seek to encourage us to hope that human dignity will prevail.

Jonathan Heim Trumpet RecitalMusic of David SampsonBreakaway for Two Trumpets and Electronic by David SampsonCommissioned by Raymond Mase Dedicated to Raymond Mase and Kevin Cobbwith Jonathan Heim, trumpet

This unique piece was commissioned by The New Levant Initiative and combines Ibrahim Maalouf Band, Levantine Trumpet Section, The Free Spirit Symphony Orchestra (Members of Kennedy Center Opera House Orchestra and the National Symphony Orchestra) and The National Children's Chorus of the United States.

Our Levantine Trumpet Section will continue working with Mr.Ibrahim Maalouf for future projects.

Heralded by the New York Times as a “virtuoso of the quarter-tone trumpet,” Maalouf gracefully marries musical traditions from his native Lebanon and his adopted France, blending Levantine melodies with modern jazz improvisations. In 2016, he performed at Lincoln Center, alongside pianist Frank Woeste, saxophonist Mark Turner, bassist Larry Grenadier, and drummer Clarence Penn, in an unforgettable tribute to Oum Kalthoum, the legendary Egyptian vocalist.

New Levant Initiative commissioned Levantine Symphony No. 1 to celebrate the vibrant and shared identity of the Levant. Maalouf describes this musical composition as an ode to the Levant. Built as a hymn of sorts—both delicate and powerful, both Near Eastern and influenced by the West—it seeks to link all of the Levantine cultures in their commonalities and modern spirits. There is a global culture which the Levant recognizes, embraces, and interacts with. And so, this contemporary symphony is rooted both in tradition—in classicism and the values that shape its identity—and in modernity, in the popular cultures of our age that are universal.

Born in Beirut, Lebanon, in the midst of the Lebanese Civil War in 1980, Ibrahim Maalouf has today emerged as the most popular instrumentalist in France, and his work has been recognized for over ten years. Trained by his father in both traditional Arab music and western classical music, he was the winner of major international classical trumpet competitions (in the U.S., Hungary, France, Finland, among other countries), embarking on an inspiring career as a classical music soloist at the age of twenty. Today, Maalouf works with world-renowned orchestras, children's choirs, and other groups at the highest level of musical excellence and creativity.

Dedicated to the performance and advancement of contemporary music and art with a decidedly Brooklyn flare, The Brooklyn Brass Quintet is a collective of five of New York City’s most virtuosic brass-playing contemporary music interpreters.

Music for Autism concerts are fully subsidized and free for individuals with autism and their family members, but RSVP’s are essential. Please RSVP under the “Concert Calendar” on www.musicforautism.org (preferred) or by calling (877) 863-7473.

UES Music Studio serves the community in New York City as a private music lesson studio. UES Music Studio offers individuals private music lessons.UES Music Studio offers beginner to advanced music lessons designed specially for the needs of the individuals of all ages.

2/13 - The HBS will present the 3rd International Historic Brass Symposium inNew York City on July 13-16, 2017. Many of the community's leadingscholars, performers, ensembles and instrument makers will beattending.